Conscience
by Agent Malkere
Summary: Everybody has one and sometimes consciences can make you do uncharacteristic things... like accidentally save the mutt's little sister.
1. The Girl in the Alley

_**Conscience **_

_By Agent Malkere _

**Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh is not mine. I've tried everything to get it's owner's to give it to me, even bribery, but they just sent the money back. Apparently they don't like Monopoly money…**

He could have taken the limo home from work. He _should _have taken the limo home from work, but Seto Kaiba had wanted to walk for some strange that even he couldn't fathom. It wasn't as though it was a particularly nice day or anything – it was nearly eight o'clock and the overcast skies were dark gray with the threat of rain. Wind whipped around the young CEO making his white trench coat billow ever more than normal.

Seto rubbed the bridge of his nose as he felt the dull throbbing in his head begin to intensify into splitting pain. The headache had been with him constantly for nearly a week now along with the fever and nausea but he was ignoring them and going to school and work as always. Seto Kaiba didn't get sick; at least, he never acknowledged that he got sick – he didn't have time for it. He had a company to run and a little brother to look after.

He glanced at the sky again as the first rain drops began to splatter across his dark brown hair. Well wasn't this just lovely – less than halfway home, but too far away to turn back now, without an umbrella and it had started to rain. Wonderful. As if his day hadn't been bad enough to begin with. The light rain dripped of the ends of his bangs and onto his nose. Other droplets of water began tracing their way down the back of his semi-waterproof trench coat. The pavement in front of Seto's feet began to take on a mirror like sheen in the street lights which where beginning to flicker on one by one in the twilight. The street he was on was now abandoned, empty of life; the impending storm having driven inside. He lengthened his stride; there wasn't anyway this day could possibly get any worse. Unfortunately for Seto, however, he had forgotten the universal rule that comes with the thought 'Things can't get any worse than this.' After it is thought, things are guaranteed to get much, much worse.

Seto's head snapped up as he heard the scream. His pace slowed. It had sounded like a girl or a woman, like they were in pain. Seto tried to quicken his stride again. He didn't have time for this, someone else would hear and come and help whoever it was. He hesitated as the person screamed again, louder this time. The sound lanced through him like a knife, reawakening a small voice in the back of his mind that he had thought had long ago been dead and buried. Despite speculation, Seto Kaiba wasn't completely cold and heartless, he did have a conscience. Everyone has some form of a conscience, except maybe psychopaths, and Kaiba wasn't a psychopath, though some of his employees would beg to differ on that opinion. Now, however, the conscience which he had tried several ingenious ways to get rid of was back with a vengeance.

_You should go help her. _

_No, someone else can help her. _

_Who? _

_Well, somebody must have heard her. She's screaming like a banshee! _

_Yeah, somebody did – YOU! _

_I meant somebody OTHER than me! _

_You're the only one around to hear her. _

_So? It's not my problem! Why are you bothering me anyway? _

_Consider this part one of my revenge for being buried in a hole for the past several years. And I'll make it your problem! I'll send you on the worst guilt trip of your life! I know you remember what guilt trips are. _

_Why should I even care about what happens to a complete stranger? _

_Would you help if it was Mokuba? _

_What?!? Of course! But that's completely different! He my brother! I don't even know this person! _

_It's not completely different and how do you know that you don't know the person? I live in your head and know for a fact that you're not psychic! Besides, she does sound familiar! _

_You're delusional! _

_That would make you delusional too, so stop insulting yourself and go and help her! _

_How do I know I can even do anything to help her? _

_You won't know 'til you try! Now hurry up and find her before she gets beaten to death! _

_Fine! _

Seto stopped and headed in the direction he thought the sound had come from hoping that it would make his conscience shut up. The scream came once more, not as strong as before but assuring him that he was headed in the right direction. Unbidden, his feet began to speed up into a run and he skittered around the corner of an alley right into the thick of things.

It was only luck that got Seto there when he did. Any later and he wouldn't have been of any help to the girl in the least, she might even have been dead if he hadn't arrived to distract her attackers from their prey. She was curled up against the alley wall wet auburn hair hanging in front of her face like a curtain, blood staining the sleeve of her left arm and the beginnings of vivid purple bruises stained her exposed skin. She couldn't have been more than sixteen. Four men surrounded her, laughing and kicking at her leering. They seemed to be enjoying themselves and didn't even notice Kaiba's sudden arrival in the mouth of the alley. One man was leaning down, reaching for the shivering, whimpering girl. Something about the girl's helpless appearance flicked a switch in Kaiba's mind and a sudden need to protect her came over him.

"Leave her _alone_!" The men's heads snapped up at the shout; they obviously hadn't been expecting company. They just stared at the irate CEO for a moment in surprise. They didn't move. "I said, _leave her alone!_"

The man who had been bending over slowly straitened up and smirked,

"Well, well, it looks like this girl's got a boyfriend." He continued to smirk and Seto gritted his teeth but didn't correct the man's assumption for now. The girl was now peering at him through her hair, bright green eyes large and frightened. She did look somewhat familiar, but Seto didn't have time to ponder where he might have seen her before because her attackers were starting to creep towards him a feral light in their eyes. "Looks like the fun ain't over yet, boys!" crowed the man who was apparently the leader of the gang and then without warning they all charged Seto at once.

If Seto hadn't already been sick and tired, he might have been able to fight them off, but as it was he never stood a chance. They swarmed over him like a pack of hyenas and despite all of his self defense training he was at their mercy in a matter of five minutes. He was flung against the alley wall and punched and kicked repeatedly. Finally they let go of him and he slumped to the ground next to the girl no longer able stand. The ring leader smirked then turned his back on his two latest victims,

"Come on, the fun's over here. Let's get something to drink!" The men swaggered away into the darkening night.

Seto pulled himself up into more of a sitting position and gave one of his infamous glares in the direction the men had gone. Next to him the girl he had saved stirred and whispered,

"Are they gone?"

"Yes." He heard her let out a faint sigh of relief but she made no attempt to get up. Seto glanced sideways at her. The rain was getting harder and she was soaked to the skin. Well, he had help her this far and after getting beaten up because of her, he was going to make sure she got home safely and didn't get attacked again. Kaiba pulled himself to his feet using the edge of a trash can to help support his unsteady legs.

"Can you walk?" he asked reaching down to help her up. She hesitantly took the proffered hand and let him pull her to her feet.

"I think so," she said, her voice still barely above a whisper and barely audible over the rain. Seto followed her out of the alley. The girl stopped next to a street light and leaned against it, her body shaking violently from the cold. Suddenly, her knees gave way and she crumpled to the ground once more. Sighing, Seto took off his white trench coat, pulled the girl gently to her feet once more, and wrapped his coat around her. She looked up at him and smiled slightly, the bruise on her cheek preventing the expression from expanding any more.

"Thank you."

Seto shrugged and avoided her eyes. Then he did something that surprised even him, he leaned over and pick her up bridal style. She looked surprised as well, but he interrupted her before she could protest,

"Well, you obviously can't make it all the way home on your own legs."

"Oh."

"Where do you live?"

She hesitated a moment before giving him her address but finally told him she lived on Fifth in number six fifty-five, adding, "My name is Serenity."

Seto simply nodded feeling unwilling to tell her who he was, some part of him suspected that she wouldn't be too happy if she knew the truth. Anyway, if anyone else ever found out about this the media would never let him live it down, so it would be better if she didn't know. They walked for several minutes in silence as the rain intensified and an echo of thunder boomed in the distance. Kaiba forced his feet to keep moving forward and refused to let his knee collapse despite the fact that he felt dizzy and light headed and his entire body screamed with pain. The girl – Serenity – was far worse off than he was and would never make it home without his help; she was barely conscious.

_Aren't you glad you didn't just leave her in that alley to bleed to death? _

_Not you again! _

_Yes, me again! You didn't think I was going to leave you alone that quickly after I just got back, did you? _

_One can always hope… _

_Well, too bad! I'm back for good! You're not gonna get rid of me again! _

_Wanta bet? _

_Nope, 'cause you'll lose. Now, back to the original question which you are so obviously trying to avoid: Aren't you glad you didn't just leave her in that alley to die? _

………

_I thought so! _

Serenity shifted slightly in his arms, bringing Kaiba back to the present. He glanced at her. Her eyes were closed and her head was leaning gently against his shoulder. As if feeling his gaze, she opened her eyes and look at him. He had to tilt his head forward to hear what she was saying.

"What's your name?"

He thought for a moment,

"You can just call me Seto."

"Okay."

They were quiet again for a minute. Rain poured down from the black sky. Seto wondered what time it was. Mokuba was probably getting worried about him by now. That made him ask another question,

"Will there be anyone at home to take care of you?" Gods he was starting to go soft!

_Nope! It's just the real you shining through! _

_Go away! _

He felt her nod against his shoulder,

"My older brother will be home."

Good, that meant he didn't need to worry about her once he got her home. Well, that was a relief. Not that he would have worried about her anyway…

_Of course you would have! That's why I'm here – it's my job and I ain't no slacker! I take pride in my work and trust me; you woulda worried if she didn't have a brother at home to take care of her! _

_If you won't stop bothering me, would you at least use proper grammar?!? _

_Ya ain't got nothin' on me, buster! _

_Gods you're irritating! _

_I aim to please! _

_If that were true then you'd shut up on command._

Seto glanced up at the street sign above him – almost there. He started to say something to Serenity but he realized that she had fallen asleep. Oh well, hopefully her brother would be awake so he could take her off his hands.

Rain slithered down the back of his neck off of his hair which had long since become plastered to his forehead and Seto had to make a conscious effort to stop his teeth from chattering as he stumbled up the walk to the small house. Because of the girl in his arms, Seto had to use his elbow to press the doorbell and then waited. The lights were on which was a good sign that somebody was home. As the bell rang inside the house, he heard a thump and then a loud clattering and somebody yelling in an excited but worried voice, "Serenity!"

Wait a minute, that voice sounded awfully familiar, but, no, it couldn't be. Exhaustion must be playing tricks on his mind. He must have just imagined that he'd heard the Brooklyn accent. Serenity couldn't possibly be related to….

The door burst open before he could finish his thought,

"Serenity, where have you-? Holy smokes!!! Serenity!!!" No! It _was_ the mutt! Of all the people he had to go and inadvertently save the sibling of and then show up on their front doorstep sick, badly beaten, and soaked to the skin and carrying their sibling in his arms, it just had to be one of his worst enemies, the mutt, also known as Joey Wheeler.

Joey stopped for a moment, suddenly realizing that the wet and bedraggled someone who was carrying his baby sister looked awfully familiar…

"KAIBA!?!"

"Wheeler," Seto responded coldly, suddenly extremely glad that Serenity had fallen asleep.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOIN' WITH MY SISTA?!?"

Seto glared at him. He was feeling too tired and sick to antagonize and argue with the mutt tonight. All he wanted was to go home to bed and never get up again. Maybe even somehow get a hold of Noa and tell him that he could have Kaiba Corp as long as he was nice to Mokuba and didn't employ the big five. Then he could just sleep for the rest of eternity when he wasn't taking care of Mokuba. Not that Seto would seriously consider doing that – Gozaburo's training was too deeply ingrained – but, hey, he was allowed to privately wish every once in a while.

Steam was practically coming out of Joey's ears now. Seto raised an eyebrow at him,

"Really, you aught to try being more thankful to the person who saved your sister's life." He place Serenity gently in her older brother's arms. "If I hadn't stepped in she'd probably have bled to death by now!"

Joey stared at him,

"Wha- What are you talkin' about?!?" He was still upset but at least he wasn't shouting now. Seto casually leaned on the door frame so that the mutt couldn't see the fact that the young CEO was beginning to sway dangerously and could barely stay upright anymore.

"She got mugged, Wheeler. They beat her so badly she could hardly walk by the time I got there."

Joey eyed him suspiciously, holding Serenity protectively against his chest,

"How do I know, tha' you ain't liein'?"

Seto rolled his eyes in frustration,

"Do you really think that I'd beat up a defenseless sixteen year old girl and then deliver her to your front doorstep? No, wait, don't answer that – apparently you do," Seto snapped, pushing away from the door frame so that he stood at his full height, towering over Joey. Wheeler, un-intimidated, glowered at Kaiba then, using his foot because he was still holding Serenity, slammed the door in the CEO's face.

Great, just great.

_Hey, being a good guy can be a thankless job sometimes. Just be glad that you saved her and she'll be safe now, not dieing all alone in some abandoned back alley. _

_Whoever said I WANTED to be a good guy? _

_I did. _

_Well, I've got news for you: I don't. _

_Well, I've got news for you: too bad. You ain't got a say in the matter. Besides, you know it felt good. _

_What did? _

_Saving her. _

_No it didn't. _

_Deny it all you like, I could tell you enjoyed it – especially the picking her up part and the her smiling at you part. _

………

_Told ya! _

Seto trudged down the front steps of the Wheeler house trying to ignore his conscience. The blasted thing wouldn't shut up! It was definitely going to cause problems at the business meeting he had tomorrow. Then, without warning, the world started spinning and Seto felt his knees begin to shake with the effort of holding his own weight. His knees buckled and doubled over in pain, cursing those men for punching him in the stomach so many times. Then he fell forward onto the ground and his thoughts swirled away into blackness. His last conscious thought was of how ironic it was that he was probably going to die now, freezing to death in the mutt's front yard, and how ecstatic Wheeler would be when he came out the next morning to find his dead body lying on the ground.

--

Joey quickly carried his sister into the living room and gently laid her on the couch, then went to get her some towels, blankets, and bandages. When he returned with laden arms, Serenity was awake and looking around curiously.

"Sis, you're awake! How're ya feelin'?" He knelt next to her and she smiled at him slightly,

"I'm feeling a bit better, Joey, but," she looked around again, "what happened to Seto?"

"_Who_?"

"Seto, the man who saved me. That's what he said his name was. I wanted to thank him again properly this time. I don't know what would have happened to me if he hadn't arrived."

Joey felt a tinge of guilt but quickly snuffed it out,

"He, uh, left already, Sis." Joey didn't like lying to Serenity, but it would probably be better if she didn't know that it had been Seto _Kaiba_ who had saved her and that had sent moneybags packing as soon as possible.

Serenity looked disappointed and sighed,

"I guess that means I won't be able to give him his coat back," she mumbled, turning slightly and closing her eyes as she drifted back to sleep. Joey sat up a little straighter, startled,

"His coat?" he asked to no one in particular. Then he finally noticed what his baby sister was wrapped in; it was one of Kaiba's signature trench coats, the one he had worn during Battle City and now he came to think of it, Joey had thought that it was a little odd that moneybags had been without a trench coat when he delivered Serenity. Previously, Joey had suspected that the gravity defying coats weren't actually clothing but part of him and that could just change the color of afore mentioned coat whenever he felt like – sort of like a chameleon. Apparently not. Weird, why would Kaiba give his coat to Serenity?

Pushing this question out of his mind, Joey went about caring for his sister, changing her into dry clothes and then putting her to bed after bandaging her cuts and wiping away some of the blood. He glanced at the trench coat again and shook his head, he'd think of what to do with it tomorrow, but now it was nearly midnight and he should probably be going to bed.

Yawning, he glanced out the front window for no particular reason and paused. There was a strange black shape lying on the front walk and it almost appeared to be… human shaped. Oh, heck. No, it couldn't be…. But then again, who else could it be?

_You should go out and help him. _

_Oh great, not you again. Why do ya always bug me at the most inappropriate moments? _

_If it wasn't for me, you would spend your entire life in detention, so get over it. Now go out there and help him! _

_Ah, come on! This is KAIBA! I don't wanta help that creep! _

_It's not about what you want, it's about what's right. _

_How is me helping moneybags 'right'? _

_He saved Serenity. _

_Yeah, so? It doesn't make up for everything he's done in the past! _

_Did everything thing you did to him in the past stop Yugi from saving you when you two first became friends? _

_Hey! That was Yugi! That's different Yug's just a nice guy. _

_And you're not? _

_Not ta Kaiba! _

_Gods you've got a thick skull! _

_So I've been told. _

_He's going to die if you leave him out there. You do know that, don't you?_

_Why would he die? _

_Gods you're dense sometimes! _

_That doesn't explain anything. _

_The fact that he blacked out in the first place is usually a pretty good sign that something's wrong. _

_But that doesn't mean he'd die. _

_Most likely he'll freeze to death. He was already soaked to the skin and shivering when he arrived, incase you hadn't noticed, and, I might add, he gave his coat to your sister. _

_Oh. _

_Not to mention the fact that he had also obviously been beaten up. _

…_beaten up? _

_You need to start being more observant. He had the beginnings of bruises coming up all over his face, his right sleeve was torn and the arm under it was bleeding badly, and once he handed you Serenity he was holding his side and leaning on the door frame because he could stand up on his own! One might think he took a few hits for your baby sister, no? _

………

_I thought so. Now hurry up and go help him! Is this any way to thank the person who saved your sister's life? _

_But- _

_No buts! I'm not arguing about it any more! Now go! _

_Oh, alright! But I want it to be on record that I'm doing this against my will! _

_Yes, yes, fine! Just get on with it! _

_Jeeze, Yug's rubbing off on me more than I thought. _

_Which is a good thing because if he hadn't, you would have been expelled by now! _

_Will you be quiet already?!? _

_Not until you get your but out there and help Kaiba! _

_I'm going! I'm going! _

Miserably, Joey pulled on his raincoat, grabbed a flashlight, and ran outside. It was Kaiba, lying in an sodden, unconscious heap and looking even worse than when he had delivered Serenity nearly three quarters of an hour ago. Getting one of the CEO's arms across his shoulders, Joey somehow managed to drag the larger teenager inside.

"I know I'm gonna regret this later!"

_Maybe, but for now, all is well. _

_That's easy for you to say – you don't have to be there when he wakes up! _

_-- _

_A/N: Please review! Tell me what you think! That involved Joey a lot more than I intended it to… hmmm… oh well! What did you think of the conscience?_


	2. Peanutbutter Toast and Disinfectant

_Thu-thump…_

_Thu-thump… _

_Thu-thump… _

Seto Kaiba very slowly opened his eyes and waited patiently for the mush of colors in front of him to resolve themselves into shapes.

_Thu-thump… _

Finally, the swirling mixture of pigments solidified into a coffee table, an ancient TV, an even older armchair, a rug, and a pale yellow wall. Where the heck was he? For some reason he had suspected he would wake up dead, but he couldn't remember why. Anyway, Seto highly doubted that this was the sort of place you ended up in after you died. It probably also wasn't possible to have pounding headaches after you were dead either. Maybe he should start paying more attention to his health like Mokuba was always saying. Groaning, he tried to shift his position so that he could see more of the room he was in. Good gods, what had he ever done to deserve this?

_Shall I list the ways? _

_Go… __**away**_

_Good morning to you, too. _

_Please… just… shut up. _

_Oh my gods! You said please! Should I have a heart attack now? _

_No, 'cause that would involve me having one, too. _

_Ah! So you've finally accepted me! _

_No, I just want you to be quiet – you're making my headache worse. _

_Hey, be happy we're even alive. _

'_We're'? _

_You die, I die. _

_Oh. _

Seto attempted to prop himself up on his elbows and immediately regretted it. A clashing layer of colors drifted and swirled across his vision again. Ugh, he felt terrible. How was he supposed to go to work like this?

_You don't. _

_Did I ask for your opinion? _

_Nope, I give it out for free – something you wouldn't know about. _

The colors faded back to normal and Seto decided that he must be in some sort of living room. Now if he could just remember where this was… The answer to his unspoken question came thumping down the stairs, the noise making Kaiba clutch at his temples before looking up again.

Joey Wheeler walked into the kitchen, too preoccupied to notice Kaiba watching him groggily from the couch. His stomach trumped everything; including Kaiba, except of course his baby sister, Serenity. Serenity had still been asleep though when he'd checked on her a few minutes ago, though, so for now the growling in his stomach was the foremost thing in his mind. About three minutes later, Joey was munching on several slices of peanut butter slathered toast. That was when he heard the faint, disoriented voice coming from the next room.

"Wheeler?"

Crud! He'd forgotten he'd left moneybags on the couch. At least the creep wasn't yelling yet which was what he had sort of been expecting. Grabbing a plate, Joey took his toast, one piece still in his mouth, and headed for the living room and the probably enraged CEO waiting there for him. Joey stopped and blinked in the door way. Or not. Well, Kaiba at least appeared to be waiting for him… sort of.

The battered looking teen was staring blankly at the pale yellow wall that separated the room he was in from the kitchen. His normally emotionless mask was starting to show signs of cracking and for some odd reason, Joey found this vaguely frightening. This was Kaiba. He wasn't supposed to have emotions or feel pain. Or save Serenity from being killed and get badly beaten up in the process. Moneybags was supposed to be a cold, heartless, robotic jerk – which Kaiba was having the audacity of not being at the moment.

There were two livid purple bruises on his face – one on his jaw, the other on his cheek – and a nasty cut which Joey had put a band-aid on last night right above the CEO's left eyebrow. The burnet winced as he shifted his head so that he could look at Joey directly, if rather blearily. Even weirder than seeing Kaiba black and blue and far less than coherent, to Joey at least, was seeing him conscious and not wearing one of his famous trench coats… because Serenity had it. Honestly, Joey was starting to wonder if those jerks hadn't somehow damaged his sister's head – how could _anybody_ become so attached to a _coat_ in less than twenty-four hours? For that matter, one of _Kaiba's_ coats??? The only good thing that Joey could think of to do with that coat was jump up and down on it for a couple of hours in a mud puddle and then shred the thing into tiny pieces and burn it (though he hadn't told his sister any of this because she didn't know yet that it had been Kaiba who had saved her).

_Gee, you've really got it in for this guy, don't you? _

_It's Kaiba. _

_So? Big whoop. _

_Moneybags is a jerk! _

_Says the teen who used to be in a gang and bully Yugi. _

_Hey! I changed! Unlike _some _people. _

_I hate to sound like a broken record – no, I take that back, I _love _to sound like a broken record – but I believe we already had this conversation… _last night_. Now what was it? Something involving Serenity…? _

_Hmpf. _

_Give him a piece of toast. _

_WHAT?!? _

_Give him a piece of toast. _

_No! My toast! _

_Oh, give me a break! It just a piece of toast! _

_He can get his own! _

_What, with your toaster? _

_Sure? Why not? _

_The toaster that is believed to have originated from the seventh circle of hell? _

_Uh… _

_And nearly killed Tristan? _

_Well… _

_THAT toaster?!? _

_Okay, maybe not the toaster, but he can still use the oven. _

_May I remind you that the oven which resides in your kitchen has been CONFIRMED to come from the seventh circle of hell and can only be safely operated by Serenity? _

_Oh yeah… _

_Last time you tried to use it involved a fire extinguisher, an actual call to the fire department, and the absent of your eyebrows for the next several weeks. It's a wonder they even grew back at all. _

_Alright, alright, I'll give him a piece of the stupid toast. _

Grumbling inwardly Joey selected the smallest piece of toast on his plate and thrust it at Kaiba.

"Toast?" he offered.

Seto stared at the proffered piece of crisped bread blankly his eyes still not quite focusing correctly. He looked slowly back between the toast and Joey, as if not quite sure of what to make of the situation before slowly leaning forward and removing the offering from the other boy's hand. Sitting back Seto continued to give the foodstuff he was holding an extremely skeptical look and then he began to nibble at a corner. This simple action seemed to take up all the teenage CEO's concentration. However, none of this was registering in Joey's brain; he was too focused on the red-brown blood smear on the back of his couch that had been exposed when Kaiba sat forward.

"Ack! Kaiba, ya're bleeding all over the back of my couch!!!"

"Huh?" Seto turned slowly and painfully to look behind himself. "So I am – very observant." He returned his concentration to eating.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to get blood stains out of furniture?!?" Ignoring the tone of Joey's voice, Seto just nodded his head slightly and instantly regretted not using a verbal response as the pain that shot through his temples made him wince. Joey waited a couple of minutes for Kaiba to do something else, like move, but when nothing happened, except that Kaiba ate more of the corner of toast, Joey decided to change tactics. It was obvious that moneybags wasn't operating on all cylinders at the moment so he'd just have to pretend – for now – that the guy was human.

Putting his remaining toast on the coffee table but safely out of Kaiba's reach, Joey left and for the second time in less than twenty-four hours returned with the first aid kit.

"Alright, take your shirt off," said Joey with an air of resignation. This seemed to finally fully cut through to the young CEO's brain.

"What?"

"I said, take your shirt off."

"No!"

Joey folded his arms across his chest,

"Look, obviously I missed a fairly large cut on your back last night so now you're bleeding on my couch and the only way I can bandage it is if you take your shirt off. Believe me, I'm not particularly thrilled about this either, but get over it already!"

Kaiba crossed his own arms and attempted to scowl but thwarted by the bruises on his face so he settled for glowering rather unconvincingly.

"I'm not taking my shirt off."

"Right, then we're going to have to do this the hard way." Several minutes and a brief struggle which Joey actually won later, Seto was going through the humiliation of literally having the shirt pried off his back as Joey pulled the article of clothing in question off over his head.

"When I'm walking better you are dead, mutt."

"Whateva."

The shirt was tossed out of its owner's reach as Joey rummaged in the first aid kit for some antiseptic. Exhausted from the fight over the shirt Kaiba lay down flat on his stomach on the couch temporarily giving up on the whole situation until the world stopped spinning. Joey was just turning back from the aid kit when he let a startled noise and dropped the rather crinkled tube of disinfectant he had been holding.

"Oi, Kaiba, what the _heck_ have you been doin' to your back?!?"

"Nothing," mumbled Seto, who was still rather absorbed in trying to get the world to stop moving. He looked down at the carpet instead of up at Joey.

"Nothin'? I hardly call whatever happened to give you those scars _nothin'_!!!"

"How about, it's none of your business?"

"Nope, try again." Joey folded his arms and waited expectantly raising an eyebrow at the boy on the couch. Seto stared resolutely at the floor, mouth firmly shut. With a sigh, Joey rolled his eyes wondering why he, of all people, was stumbling across evidence that moneybags might be at least partially human after all. He didn't care and he didn't want to know and worst of all he was starting to get curious! Argh!

_Of course you care, of course you want to know, and of course you're curious! You've seen scars like that before and you know where they come from. Anyone would be wondering where one of the most prominent and youngest businessmen in the country got those from. _

_This whole line of thought is your fault, isn't it? _

_Once again – of course, need I be any more obvious? _

_I don't give a damn what's happened to that jerk. _

_If that were really true, would I be talking? I am a part of you, you know. _

_Your opinion doesn't count. _

_Really? I find that extremely offensive. _

_Good, it was supposed to be. _

_You're curious and you know it! _

_Oh, shut up, will you?!? _

_No. Talk to him. _

_No. _

_But you _know_ you can get him to talk… _

_Huh? Are you crazy? _

_Only as crazy as you, but back to my original point, you do know what to say. _

_Too bad, I've got toast to eat. I'm busy._

_Good grief, you're annoying!_

_And proud of it! _

Picking up the tube of disinfectant he had dropped, Joey went about quickly and efficiently cleaning and bandaging the cut before he returned his attention to his now cold breakfast. Grumbling to himself, he grabbed the plate and went to finish eating in the kitchen. Kaiba watched him go silently from his position on the couch. Joey missed the very quiet sound of feet on the stairs due to the rather foul mood he was now in or he would have waited in the living room a few moments longer if he had. Seto, who had heard the footsteps, glanced up again to see Serenity trying very carefully to negotiate the stairs a very determined look on her face.

Once she reached the bottom, she shuffled into the living room and sat down on the couch next to Seto looking exhausted from the endeavor. Only then did Serenity notice who was sitting next to her.

"Oh, Seto! I didn't see you. I'm sorry – I was a little too focused on walking and wasn't really paying attention. Joey said you had already left." Her voice was very soft and tired but she smiled at him slightly despite the bruises on her face.

_She called me Seto_, he thought. _Guess the mutt didn't tell her who I am yet._ It occurred to him that she had a very nice smile – not that that was important to him in any way, shape, or form so why he was even bothering to notice was beyond the young CEO. Then it also occurred to him that she was waiting for an explanation or at least a response of some kind. Oh, yeah…

"Well, I did leave," Seto paused, unsure of what to say next. Telling somebody who was already in poor physical condition that you had blacked out on her front lawn – most likely causing her a great deal more distress – probably wasn't such a good idea. Besides, if he upset Serenity, Wheeler would probably try to kill him and might actually succeed too considering Seto had already lost the battle over the shirt.

However, he needn't have worried about what to say next though because at that moment Joey Wheeler returned from the kitchen with the intent of checking on Serenity again. The blonde nearly had a minor heart attack when he saw his baby sister sitting next to Kaiba on the couch, but this time refrained from yelling (just barely) for Serenity's sake.

"Ren, you're awake! …Why are you sitting next to him?"

"Oh, good morning, Joey!" The auburn haired girl shifted so that she could see her brother better from where she was sitting. "I was just saying to Seto that I was surprised he was still here – I thought you said that he had left."

Joey shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. He hated lying to his sister, but he hated upsetting her even more and the blonde was fairly sure that admitting that he had kicked Kaiba out of the house only to have him blackout on the lawn would definitely upset Serenity. So now it was time for the carefully casual lie. "Well, Sis, he did leave, but it started raining even harder – I mean, it was really teaming out – and he came back and ask if he could stay the night. Apparently his place is a bit of a walk from here."

"Oh." Serenity thought about this for a moment and then seemed to accept it. "Have you looked outside yet? The entire street's flooded!"

At this statement, Joey nearly choked on his remaining half of his toast and then ran to the window, flinging the curtains aside. He stared in horror at the scene in front of him. The road had disappeared beneath several inches of brownish water and there were large puddles stretching across the front yards of various houses. Overhead the clouds were slate gray and still dropping copious amounts of rain on the city below them. Noooooo!!! How was supposed to get rid of moneybags now? This wasn't exactly ideal driving weather! Maybe he could call Mokuba and get him to send around one of the KC choppers….

_A/N: Hehehe… poor Joey! I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Strangely enough, I was originally intending for this story to only be a oneshot… But I just had too much fun with it to leave it at that! Thanks for reading!_


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